JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight:
remembering the work and life
of a longtime correspondent

for "NewsHour."

ELIZABETH BRACKETT,
Journalist: And the question
people are now asking is,
what will the long-term

impact on their community be?

JUDY WOODRUFF: Elizabeth
Brackett once said she
wouldn't take no for an answer.

And it was a trait that came
to define much of her 40-year
career in journalism, including

more than 25 years as a special
correspondent based in the
Midwest for the "NewsHour."

ELIZABETH BRACKETT: These three
acres of corn are all that
Boyer (ph) has left of the 800

acres he planted this year.

He's completely wiped out.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Whether she
was covering the impact of
devastating floods in Iowa, the

space shuttle Challenger
disaster, or families
fleeing after Hurricane
Katrina, Elizabeth's

reports stood out in
the way she captured the
voices of those affected.

WOMAN: We have been
walking since yesterday.

We have had people that have
been walking for three days.

Everybody's out on the bridge.

Nobody gave us nothing.

We haven't eaten in three days.

JUDY WOODRUFF: She
was competitive.

And as one of her producers
at the "NewsHour,"
Merrill Schwerin, put
it, "She always pushed

for more, more interviews, more
phone calls, more perspective."

Elizabeth wanted to be at
the front of a breaking
story, as was the case
when she covered the

heated battles over an abortion
clinic in Wichita, Kansas.

ELIZABETH BRACKETT: Three
hours after patients had gotten
into the clinic, those who had

not been arrested from Operation
Rescue were still on the street.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Elizabeth was
a true Chicagoan at heart.

She worked for several
TV stations, most notably
with our colleagues at
WTTW for two decades,

where she was a correspondent
and host for "Chicago Tonight."

She often focused on
education and the deadly
toll of gun violence.

But she loved politics as
well, and Illinois was a
great place to focus on that.

She reported extensively
on the downfall of former
Governor Rod Blagojevich.

And she wrote a book about it.

ELIZABETH BRACKETT: The calls
for impeachment are growing.

There is now a bill introduced
into the Illinois legislature
calling for impeachment, in the

House.

JUDY WOODRUFF: She received
numerous awards during her
career, including national and

regional Emmys, as well
as a Peabody Award.

She retired, so to speak, in
2014, but still was reporting
10 stories a year for WTTW.

ELIZABETH BRACKETT: Well, after
all that worry, it didn't rain.

And I really had a great week.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Remarkably, she
completed her first triathlon
at age 50 and went on to win

five global titles
in her age group.

Elizabeth died Sunday after an
apparent bicycle accident on the
lakefront path in her beloved

hometown of Chicago.

She was 76 years old.

And we are heartbroken.

And, online, we have more
remembrances of Elizabeth from
producer Merrill Schwerin,

who, together, they worked
on dozens of stories.

That and more is on our
Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.